Night Shift Brings the Party to a Coffee Shop Downtown

What makes a party? Is it the music? Or perhaps the venue? Maybe it's just the general vibe.

For Night Shift, a new pop-up event debuting at Macondo Coffee Roasters' downtown location on Saturday, January 18, a party is anywhere people come together to have a good time.

"That's what we are trying to go for," says Brandon Jacques, one half of the DJ duo Parkline. "We're breaking out of the traditional Miami club scene of going out to bars and clubs every night. DJs all over the U.S. are doing pop-ups at the most random places, whether it be coffee shops or pizza parlors. Miami doesn't really have any of those."

The Macondo event is the first of what Jacques and Chad Blumenthal, the other half of Parkline, hope will become a regular monthly series. Future editions may take place at a tattoo parlor or barbershop.

The Parkline guys aren't native to the Magic City. Jacques is from New Jersey, while Blumenthal is from New York. They moved to Miami in 2022 looking for a change of scenery and quickly found themselves spinning at events their friends hosted. At the insistence of their friends, they started taking their careers as DJs seriously a year ago, playing for crowds at local spots like Mode, Esmé, and One K Raw.

"The music we create now is high-energy minimal house," Jacques says. "It's kind of like PIV Records — jazzy, minimal tech-house sounds. We also like DJing Afro-house."

Despite being a somewhat recent transplant, Jacques appreciates Miami's nightlife scene and everything it contributes. He particularly enjoys the enthusiastic support clubgoers give to local DJs and producers.

"I love the fact how open everyone is to meeting people on the dance floor. It's almost like a one-hive mind. Every here, especially past a certain point in the night, is there for the music."

So, how does someone go about convincing a coffee shop to let you host a party?

Well, first, become a regular and cozy up with the owner. Then, point out how unfortunate it is that the business closes early.

"Both Chad and I are big coffee guys, and we were sitting down having coffee at Macondo. We were like, 'This would be a cool place to throw a pop-up,'" Jacques explains.

After getting to know the owners and managers, they pitched the idea of Night Shift, noting that the space is left unused after 5 p.m. "Thankfully, the owner of Macondo downtown really likes house music and the scene down here," he adds.

In addition to Parkline, the January 18 event will feature sets by Miguel Gallardo and Chuck. Naturally, espresso martinis will accompany the music.

As for what else Parkline is working on this year, according to Jacques, the duo is producing new music to be released on a label based out of Amsterdam while also looking to get signed and release tracks on other imprints. They also hope to continue growing as DJs and spin at venues they've long admired, such as Floyd and Jolene.

"Just getting to play with some of the people we idolize, that we've seen come up down here, like Slugg, ChaseWest, and other local producers we look up to, would be amazing," Jacques says.

They certainly will need the caffeine boost to keep up.

Night Shift. With Miguel Gallardo, Parkline, and Chuck. 10 p.m. Saturday, at Macondo Coffee Roasters, 242 N. Miami Ave., Miami; instagram.com/lab.3002. Tickets cost $15 to $30 via posh.vip.